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ISAAC LINDSLEY, OF PAWTUGKET, RHODE ISI'LAAND.

. LeaersPanrNamAro, daadnprtz 7,1868.

IMPROVEMENT in HAIR-,ctoraf TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, ISAAC LINDSLEYLof Pawtucket, in the county of Providence, and State of Rhode 'f Island, have invented a new4 and useful Improvement .in the Manufacture of Hair-Cloth; and I do hereby dec'larethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, making a .part of this specification, the several figures of which will be referred-t0 as the description proceeds. A l

- In the manufacture of hair-cloth, it is wellA known that the weft is composed of distinct hairs interwoven with the warp, instead of-a continuous weft-thread, as is the case in weaving'comm-on textile' fabrics, and for 'this reason the width of the'web that can be produced is determined by the length of the hair which 'composes its weft. In practice-great diculty is found in procuring hair of sudicient .length to makel wide cloth, 'that is, cloth fromv twenty-eight to thirty-two inches in width, such long hair being comparatively very scarce,4while the relative demand for suchwide cloth in upholstery, as compared with the demand for narrow widths, far exceeds the ability to produce the wide cloth from the usual sources of" supply of hair suitable for such manufacture, but for 'the production of narrow cloth, the supply of shorter hair which is obtained with the long hair,

and from .other sources in commerce, is abundant, and can be supplied, fOrA'themanufacture of narrow cloth, far

`,in excess of the demand for'the same, and with comparative cneapness. 'The uses for narrow cl'oth in'upholste'ry are very limited, and it has not'been used in place of the wide cloth by sewing pieces together, because, before my invention, no method was. known to the trade by which the cloth could bepiec'ed or joinedwithout making a seam that would disfigure the work somuch that it would not be acceptable to purchasers. Ihis is owing to the rigidityv and intractable nature of" the hair, which, with -the usual meansfof formingseams in cloth, would produce a seam' formin'ga deep groove or cavity .at the junction of the pieces, which would be very-conspicuous. But with some practical means ofjoiping the narrow webs, so that the seam wou-ld not be deemed objectionable, the uses of narrow'cloth in place of wide cloth in the trade would be enormously increased-and great economy would 'result therefrom, because the cost of production per square'yard of narrow goods is less than one-half" of that of wide goods.' l

The object of my invention is to manufacture a web of hair-cloth, of any desired width, from hair shorterthun the width of the web, so that the web thus'formedican be used in the trade, practically, as though it had been formed of hair as long ast its entire width. This object I attain 'by first weaving narrow webs of cloth with short hair in `the usual manner, and then by uniting these-webs, until the desired width is obtained, by a mode of operation. to be hereafter described, by which the joining of the narrow webs is so nicely made as to be nearly imperceptible, and gives to the face of the goods a uniform appearance throughout, so that the composite web thus made can be treated in the trade as though it had been woven in one entirewidth.'

My invention, therefore, consists, in the first place, of a new method 'ofjoinin-g pieces of hair-cloth, `so that in practice the junction shall not be noticeable, by a series of operations which will be hereafter described, and, in the second place,lof a new manufacture of hair-.cloth,which consists cfa web formed by a union of two or' more narrow webs by means of my new method, substantially, so that it can be treated practically in the trade-4 as though it were wovenentire. In practice, it will be found generallythat two narrow webs united will make a. l web wide enough to meet the ordinary demand of thetrade, but more than two may bc united, lif desired, by

thesatne mode operation.

I will now proceed to describe vthe several operations to which the'material is subjected in forming the 'union of the narrow webs, which 'I have Vpractised with' entire success. The two pieces`to be joined are first "machine, o r otherwise, with a iirin seam, with si of junction, generally just within the selvedges, two pieces are then opened out flat on a table, with the face d with a sponge to soften the hair and destroy some of its elasticity. Then, witll'a hot s goose, the selvedges are opened ou A'lhis part of the operation may be done with a suitable machine by a continu laid together face to face in proper relation to each other, and sewed together through and through by a sewing-4 lk-twist or other strong sewing-material, along the desired line following as near as may be th'e line of the warp-thread. The

moothing-iron or tailors t, which leaves them in the condition shown in fig. 1 of the drawing.

ous operation. The` parts ownwurd, and theseam and parts adjacent are wet 'leus 2 adjacent to the seam are then again thoroughly wet,'and the web is rolled up compactly, with the selvedges outward, which has the effect to press them down close to the back ofthe goods, amlhold them in that position. The roll is allowed to remain in that condition about twelve hours, more or less, according to circumstances, and when unrolled it willbe found that the hair has absorbed the water until it has become soft and apparently somewhat gelatinous, and, having lost nearly all its elasticity, is capable of'being moulded or pressed into a new 'form,which it lwill retain permanently on being dried. In this state the selved-ges lie upon the back -of the goods, as is shown in iig. 2, without any tendency to rise up. rEhen the warp-threads are ravclled out of the selvedges up to within two or three vthreads iftlie seam, or up to the red 4 lines a of fig.' 2, so as. to remove a large part of the thickness and prevent the impression of the selvedges from appearing 'on the face of the goods after pressing.v Then the web isfolded back and forth between plates of Russia sheet iron, as is shown in iig. 3, in'the same way-as pieces of cloth are folded ,betweenl sheets of pressboard to prepare them for pressing, until the whole is thus disposed of. These packs of cloth and sheets are then placed in a hydrostatic Press,Y with hot iron platesfbetween the packs, in the same way as is usually practised in pressing 4woollen cloths to ni'sh them.v A pressure of, say, tive hundred to six hundred tons, more or less, is then put upon the contents of the press, and maihtained from six to twelve hours, or until the moisture has been dried out of the cloth. It fis then re-prssed. to rinishthe folds left by the first pressure, in the usual way, excepting that to prevent thc iron plates from imparting too much gloss to the,goods,.I place between the plates andthe face of the goods a sheet of paper. l Y l y Upon examiningv the weft-hairs after the process has been completed, they will be found, at the lin' of junction, to'have taken the form shown in iig. 4, the transverse part of the bights of hair being bentnearly at Aa rightangle at the face of the goods, and so embedded or moulded to those upon the opposite side, of the seem as to bring the weft-hairs at the face into close contact, thus obliternting the cavity'formed by the seam before `it was pressed.` This result appears to be due to the action of the pressure upon' the greater thickness at the vseam caused by the two thicknesses of cloth and the` sewing-thread, and also that the length of weft between l two points on either side of the seam, as from btac, fig. 2, whenv measured on the surface of the'cloth, is greater than the distance on the plate in a direct line, so that this greater length, when brought down to the plate by pressure, tends to force the bights of` the `wefthairs hard against each other andA mould them into the form shown in iig. 4. n y

' In order to morev eifectually conceal the line of union of the narrow webs, Ifpr'opose, in some cases, if it shall be found acceptable to the trade, to weave the cloth with stripes of any desired style, formed by changing the ligure of the weaving or the characterof the warp, or both, and to join the webs at the outside edge of the outside stripeof one of them, meetingv it with a proper width of'the ground-figure of the other, so that thel .stripe appears tobreak the ground-iignre equally upon either side of it, thus completely concealing thejoint.

It is obvious that my new method of joining two pieces of `hair-cloth maybe employed in the trade for .other purposes than forming a wide, cont-inuoxis web, and I intend so to employ it, and I also intend to employ it in joining other Afabrics made with separate wefts of a rigid nature, which may be treated in a similar manner.v

What I claim as my invention, is` Y A The method herein described 0f uniting woven fabrics,A having a face oiha-ir with an imperceptible joint, by stitching the'fabric through and through'where it is to be united, and while the hair face is in a semi-plastic condition produced bysaturation,attening o`ut and'pressing, with protracted pressure, this sewn joint between metal or like surfaces while subjected to a suitable degree of heat to mould and set'the hair face at the joint permanently, soias to produce an unyieldingijoint and'an'unbroken hair `face at 4the joint, substantially as` specified.

I alsorclaim, asa new manufacture, a continuous web of hair-cloth,.composed ofA two or more narrow webs, `auch as are usually woven from shoi't hair-weft, united after the sewing, moistening, and pressing' process herein. described, and in which a portionf'of'th'e warp-threads are removed beforepressing', and the bights in the wefthairs of the united joint are bent and Ymoulded at right angles to the face of the fabric, and into or against each other, to conceal the joint, substantially as specified.

Executed, December 17, 18.67.

' ISAAC' LINDSLEY.

Witnesses WM. C. HIBBARD, DAVID PRAY. 

